Granny Creech’s Radio Spot Crypt

Welcome, all lovers of vampires and monsters! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I guess it comes as no surprise that the makers of horror movies would capitalize on the tried and true names of horror to seek box office success.

As I was clearing out some of my radio spot files I saw that the vampire and monster-making genres still had some energy left after the great Hammer films had run their courses. Feature vampire lovelies and gruesomely-made monsters and the audiences were sure to come, right? Evidently.

I have come up with eighteen titles of screen shockers that took the Dracula and Frankenstein legends to new directions, many with increasing doses of gore and female nudity. As the 1970s unfolded, the screen became more exploitative. Many of these films lacked quality, but some were adequate. Liberties were taken with the original canon legends, and stories were created to make use of the screen’s new-found freedoms.

So, here are the spots. Most are quite good…some are overly screamed. See how many of these bring back memories…and nightmares.

Blood! Fangs! Crosses! Corpses! Beautiful, and sometimes nude, women in peril! Cadavers! Body parts! Mad labs! Monsters! Dracula and Frankenstein movies continue!

Count Dracula and His Bride

Count Yorga Vampire

Dracula (Frank Langella)

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror

Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks

Guess What Happened to Count Dracula

Lady Frankenstein

The Return of Count Yorga

Welcome, all lovers of double features! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

Well, I was rummaging through my files when I saw that my radio spot tribute to Hammer vampire movies was incomplete: I found two more. And, they were part of some Hammer Films double features which included a mummy sequel and three Frankenstein films! So, I thought I would introduce the Frankenstein and Mummy sagas here also. Confusing? Well, let me explain…

Last time I featured two Dracula movies which headlined two double features, one containing zombies and the other an occult adventure. This time the two vampire movies take the backseat to two Frankenstein movies and the third double feature has a mummy movie taking the backseat to a Frankenstein film! Whew! It’s not as complicated as it sounds.

First off, we journey to 1967 for Frankenstein Created Woman, a play on And God Created Woman from 1956, and The Mummy’s Shroud, third in Hammer’s Mummy series. Peter Cushing returns as Baron Frankenstein but Christopher Lee is absent from the former.

Second, from 1970, we have Horror of Frankenstein and Scars of Dracula, with Ralph Bates in the first and Christopher Lee in the second.

Lastly, from 1974, there’s Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell paired with Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter. Peter Cushing again reprises his role as the good doctor in this, the final chapter of the Frankenstein saga, and Horst Janson stars as Captain Kronos, chasing vampires who drain the youth instead of blood from their victims.

Sadly, none of these double feature radio spots highlight any theater handouts.

The movies were winding down and the radio spots tried to capture the old glamour, but time and movie culture were taking their tolls. They are still fun, though, especially as two spots for the Horror/Scars double feature hold on to the puns from an earlier marketing angle.  But it’s sad to think these spots were at the end of such glorious Hammer traditions.

Murders! Corpses! Body parts! Vampires! Bats! Good vs Evil! Tombs! Bandages! Ancient curses! More gorgeous women in peril! Three Hammer double features!
Bonus! I just found two spots each for the single releases of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell and Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter. Enjoy!

Horror of Frankenstein and Scars of Dracula

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell and Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter

Frankenstein Created Woman and The Mummy’s Shroud

Welcome, all lovers of the movies that drain you! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

Many thanks go out to my friend, the ever-vivacious Granny Creech, for filling in for me and doing the spots for Dracula Has Risen From the Grave. I was busy elsewhere and just couldn’t fit it in to meet Ol’ Zombos’ schedule. He’s a real stickler about things like that, and I knew I’d be in big trouble with the old guy if I were late, so Granny saved my skin, what little there is left of it.

Anyway, in keeping with my original plan, here are spots for two more Hammer vampire treasures, Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Dracula A.D. 1972. …

Hammer Dracula Radio SpotsRead More »

Welcome, all lovers of the mysterious and other-worldly! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

In late 1977 a movie opened which captured the imaginations of all those who believe in UFOs and extraterrestrial life. The sci-fi magazines of the time immediately began to compare it to Star Wars but, in all fairness, it was a movie of a totally different kind. This movie, set on Earth, appealed more to the mind…offering many puzzling events which led to an astonishing conclusion. Visually it was satisfying and the effects were great, especially the mind-blowing finale. It remains a classic but didn’t lead to any spin-offs or sequels, aside from a director’s cut or two. So, keep watching the skies…they are watching us.

Mysterious lights in the sky! Strange happenings! Strange visions! The Devil’s Tower! Losing your mind! Government cover-up! The Mother ship! D-E-C-C-G! Contact! Close Encounters of the Third Kind!

Hello, My Children!

Whew, is it hot! It is hotter than an overcooked vat of my Witch’s Brew!

I was just sitting here in my parlor when I received a phone call from the Radio Reaper. He was all in a tizzy:

“Granny,” he said, breathlessly, “have you seen Zombos’ recent posting?  It is the pressbook for Dracula Has Risen From The Grave. I have some radio spots for it but I’m too busy to fix them up and send them to him. Can You do it?”

“Sure, Reaper,” I said. “I will be glad to. Send me the files and I’ll get right on it.”

He did and I did, and I must admit they were right up my alley. I wasn’t too familiar with the movie or the spots, but after hearing them, I was glad I got to write something about them.

They are not the usual radio spots I am used to hearing! If you have never heard them you are in for quite a treat. They are full of puns and I LOLed through most of them (that’s text jargon for those of you who do not know). I called up my grandson Big Abner and let him hear them and he LOLed, too.

Hee hee.

These spots are quite unlike anything I would have thought the Warner Bros./Seven Arts marketers for Hammer’s vampire movie would have resorted to so I had to look it up on Wikipedia to see if it was a spoof or a tongue-in-cheek feature. But, no, it was played in all seriousness…even rated “G”, which is surprising in itself. However, the one-sheet poster should have been a dead giveaway for the advertising tone. I didn’t read anything about what Hammer Films thought of the American campaign so I guess all was well, since it became Hammer’s most profitable movie (according to IMDb).

Reader reviews on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) mostly agree that it is one of the best in the Hammer series. I haven’t seen it so I can’t attest to that fact or add my opinion. It is the fourth of the series and was made in 1968.

So, here are the spots, courtesy of the Radio Reaper’s Reliquary. We hope you enjoy them and get a laugh or two from them. If nothing else, they have quite a bite….sorry….
Now, on with the pun-ishment!!

If you have radio spots you would like to share with Granny or just want to exchange spells, you can reach her at [email protected].

Remember when professional critics’ reviews actually had a yay or nay power over movies? Here are radio spots highlighting the glowing reviews for Jaws, courtesy of Granny Creech and Radio Reaper.

Spielberg’s first big hit contained elements he repeated in many of his movies. A night sea hunt for the shark provides an early example of his favorite visual hallmark, a beam of light made visible by fog. He would continue to devote close attention to characters, instead of hurrying past them to the special effects, as so many 1990s f/x directors did. In “Jaws” and subsequently, he prefers mood to emotional bludgeoning, and one of the remarkable things about the picture is its relatively muted tone. The familiar musical theme by John Williams is not a shrieker, but low and insinuating. It’s often heard during point-of-view shots, at water level and below, that are another way Spielberg suggests the shark without showing it. The cinematography, by Bill Butler, is at pains to tell the story in the midst of middle-class America; if Spielberg’s favorite location would become the suburbs, “Jaws” shows suburbanites on vacation. (Roger Ebert,

Gary Fox and the Radio Reaper just can’t stay out of the water…

Since 2-D wasn’t enough to bring the terror close, Jaws 3-D made those shark chompers sharper for popcorn-loving audiences. Or, at least, that was the intention. Released in July of 1983, This “third dimension is terror” outing pumped up a soggy script with gory optics. Being a Jaws nut no matter what, I did watch this, with friends, in the theater. The 3-D glasses gave me a headache but I persevered. Besides, I loved Louis Gosset Jr. as much as Lea Thompson (I know, right!) and with a team of female water skiers, the Sea World park  backdrop, and Brody’s son all growed-up to face a mother shark and her baby–with help from “plucky” dolphins, what’s not to love? Well…although they hired Richard Matheson (yeah, that guy) to turn in a top-notch script, some bright bulbs decided to revise it to his dislike. Of course, audiences (including me) ate it up anyway as much as the sharks ate up the people. To get the lowdown on Jaws 3-D, read Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A Jaws Companion by Patrick Jankiewicz. One tidbit I gleaned from the book: Because of the 3-D process, the original hope was to use it for a Creature From the Black Lagoon sequel, headed by director John Landis. Sid Sheinberg, head of MCA, saw the test and opted to do Jaws 3-D instead. Ouch.

The radio spots provided by Gary and Radio Reaper include the Advance Promo and Preview Trailer.

Once again the mysterious Radio Reaper strikes with radio spots from Jaws 2…

“Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water” is the tagline we can never forget. While Jaws 2 may be the best of the sequels, given that it has Roy Scheider returning as Chief Brody, Lorraine Gary as Ellen Brody, and Murray Hamilton playing the mayor again, it began the sequelitus money-grab of the franchise. But who could resist? There is something about watching a huge shark chomping on people–especially teenagers–that riffs off what makes horror movies so appealing. This time the director, Jeannot-Szwarc, gets the credit after replacing the original director, John D. Hancock. Scheider returned to fulfill a contract obligation, but wasn’t too happy on set. Once again, the problems with salty water mixing with a mechanical shark led to delays and a ballooning budget expense. In spite of the director differences, script rewrites, and technical problems, Jaws 2 was another box office winner. (ScreenRant has something to say about it.)

The Fourth of July Weekend is coming, and you know what that means….

Welcome, all lovers of all things intense and terrifying! I’m the Radio Reaper. Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

It was back in the summer of 1975 when I saw a movie that scared me to death! I would never go swimming in the ocean again! Despite many production problems the movie went on to become one of the top grossing movies of all time and put the name Steven Spielberg on the map.

From the horrifying opening to the explosive climax, the terror doesn’t stop.

“May be too intense for younger children.”  Hell, may be too intense for adults! Just listen to these exciting spots from 50 years ago!

Poor Chrissie! Poor little kid on the rubber raft! The bitten-off leg! You’re gonna need a bigger boat! Chief Brody! Quint! Hooper! Bruce the shark! JAWS!!!

Jaws Re-release Spot

ZC Note:  Jaws was the original summer blockbuster, ushering a whole new terrortainment into the theaters. Who could enjoy the beach after that movie? While the fictional town of Amity Island was located off the coast of Long Island, the movie was actually filmed at Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Jaws was the first major movie to be filmed on open waters instead of studio water tanks, which caused numerous issues for Bruce, the mechanical shark. They had so much trouble with Bruce that, although Stephen Spielberg originally planned to show Bruce eating up more screen time, he relied instead on John Williams’ score to use music to drive the now unseen terror.

The town of Amity may have been fictional, but some of the details come from real events. Quint (Robert Shaw), the experienced shark hunter, was based on Frank Mundus, a shark fisherman from Montauk, New York. Benchley used Mundus’ experience catching a gigantic great white shark off of the New York coast as inspiration for writing Jaws in the ’70s. The story itself was also loosely based on the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, a time when five people fell victim within two weeks in early July. ScreenRant

Check out Josh Olson on Jaws over at Trailers From Hell.